


A Reason to Cry at the Space Mall

by ApolloFox



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Crying Lance (Voltron), Insecure Lance (Voltron), Leader Pidge...?, Protective Shiro (Voltron), Space Dad Shiro (Voltron), Space Mall, Voltron Aggressive AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-08
Updated: 2018-09-08
Packaged: 2019-07-08 14:09:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15932039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ApolloFox/pseuds/ApolloFox
Summary: The Voltron Paladins go back to the Space mall to purchase a few items, but it doesn't exactly go as smoothly as they would have liked.This story is a part of the Voltron Aggressive AU!





	A Reason to Cry at the Space Mall

**Author's Note:**

> This is a one-shot for the Voltron Aggressive AU, created by me and HermesSerpant. You don't necessarily need to view everything that we’ve posted for the AU to read this since it can technically be by itself, but it might be helpful to do so anyway if you’re interested.
> 
> Because this story was written by me, ApolloFox, it is in past tense, which is different from the other stories that we've posted so far because they were written by HermesSerpant in present tense. I just wanted to mention that to make sure there wasn’t any confusion.

The Paladins had just arrived back at the space mall since some of the team members wanted to purchase a couple of items. Coran sometimes would provide the Paladins with money to buy things, giving it to them like a kind of allowance someone would get from their parent. Pidge was looking for a part she needed for her latest project, while Hunk wanted to take this chance to get some unique ingredients for a new dish. The others were tagging along because Shiro had told them to, saying it would be a fun opportunity to spend time together.

“We’re going to stick together while we go where Pidge and Hunk need to, alright everyone?” Shiro informed the team after they entered the mall and while he was evenly splitting up the money that had been entrusted to him.

Keith didn’t like that idea and decided to protest. “Why would we stick together? It’d be faster if those two went by themselves to get their stuff and we did the same for ourselves.”

Shiro narrowed his eyes, glaring at the Red Paladin. “No one is splitting up because this is going to be time to spend together and bond. You should know better than to think I was going to let anyone split up from the group. And in fact, the longer it takes the better. Anymore complaining and I will not hesitate to think of more stuff for us to do here, Keith.”

He frowned in response, crossing his arms indignantly in front of his chest to continue making the point that he did not like this. But he knew better than to keep arguing with his leader, he would end up losing anyway and with possible consequences.

So without any further problems, the Paladins walked as a collective unit through the mall. They had decided they would follow Hunk to the store he had selected first. The food-loving boy led them to a pretty large shop that was stocked with a wide variety of produce. A lot of what they saw was unfamiliar since it was mostly food from different planets that they had never seen or eaten from before.

Hunk quickly began searching around the store for different ingredients he might need, adding them to a basket as he found what he wanted. The others stood around, staying close to Shiro near the front doors as they waited for Hunk to finish.

“Hey Pidge, doesn’t this kind of look like oranges from earth?” Lance commented as he walked over to a barrel filled to the brim with round, orange-colored objects.   
“Yeah, but there’s bound to be some food in the universe that bears a resemblance to Earth’s.”

Lance nodded, picking one of them out of the barrel and rolling it around in his hands.  
“Feels just like one too,” he smiled sadly, his heart aching a bit at the small reminder of anything from his home planet.

“Alright guys, I got everything I needed,” Hunk announced as he walked over to them with bags of groceries in his hands.  
“Keith, help him carry those please,” Shiro ordered.

Keith grumbled to himself, thinking that this was somewhat of a punishment for speaking against their leader earlier. But he took half of the bags without any further complaints. 

“Thanks, man! Also, thanks for letting me stop by here Shiro, I just can’t wait to try this recipe out!”

Shiro smiled softly at the Yellow Paladin. “Of course, Hunk.”

They continued walking, this time behind their shortest teammate to some store that was halfway across the mall.

“I didn’t realize we were going to be taking a whole entire hike today,” Lance joked.

Shiro and Hunk laughed while Pidge stated that they simply had to go to this particular store, so the long walk would be worth it.

When she spotted the store her eyes lit with excitement and she picked up her pace, rushing into the store without checking if the others were following her. They were of course, but definitely going slower than she had. They opened the door of the small looking shop, which had no windows. As they walked in they couldn’t see much as the room was very dark except for the dull, blinking lights along the few aisles in the store. As their eyes slowly adjusted they began to see the different mismatched mechanical parts that line the shelves in a seemingly unorganized fashion.

“Let me know if you need anything, anything at all…” An eerie voice sounded from the corner, causing the Paladins to jump in surprise.   
It was the shopkeeper sitting at a counter, the nearest light giving a slight view of the smile played on his lips and the narrowed eyes on the alien’s lizard-like features.

Hunk turned to Lance, speaking lowly as not to be heard. “That guy kind of gives me the creeps, man…”   
Shiro stepped in front of Pidge, looking down at her. “I don’t like how this place feels. Can you get what you need from here so we can leave fast?”  
She nodded understandingly. “I’ll try to be quick.”

She disappeared into the aisles to get the part she needed.

The shopkeeper spoke again, his voice sounding scratchy. “So is it only the tiny one looking to buy things then? Because I don’t like having people in my shop who aren't planning on spending.”  
Keith decided to respond. “Yeah, just her and then we’ll be out of your stupid shop.”

The lizard-alien let out an annoyed hiss.

“Well, if you’re going to stay…” he mumbled under his breath. 

He glanced at the four standing by the door, his eyes landing on the one he decided to perceive as the easiest prey.

“You, with the brown jacket and white hood, come over here,” he raised his voice authoritatively.

“Are you asking me?” Lance asked doubtfully, pointing a finger at himself.  
“Yes, you!”  
“What is it you want with him?” Shiro questioned.  
“Just to speak with him, that’s all. You have a problem with me talking to people?”  
The white-haired man grunted in response. “Fine, go ahead Lance.”

The Blue Paladin approached the counter with a cheery smile on his face, not finding any reason quite yet to be negative towards the person. “What is it, sir?”  
“Oh, I just wanted to see if you were interested in any of these items I had right here. You seemed like someone who might know good worth in something when you see it.”  
“Well, I’m like my friend said before, I’m not personally where to buy anything, just waiting for another friend.”  
“Won’t you just take a look?”

Not wanting to appear impolite, Lance decided to nod his head. And besides, it couldn’t hurt to just satisfy the alien by peering at what he had to offer.

The shopkeeper pulled a few items from below his counter, laying them out on the flat surface for the Blue Paladin to see. He smiled and spread his arms apart as if to say, ‘Take a look at this great stuff!’

Lance did look, but he didn’t really find anything to be great. He wasn’t interested in the type of things displayed on the shelves of the dark store anyway, why would anything from behind the counter be different?

Lance smiled apologetically at the alien. “Sorry sir, but I just don’t like these types of things.”

He immediately frowned, annoyance displayed obviously on his strange features. The alien was easily angered, and he didn’t care to respect anyone who didn't hand over their money to him.

“You must be a real idiot.”

Lance's eyes widened in surprise. “W-what?”

“You heard me.” the shopkeeper snapped, “You’re just some dull-headed, good for nothing, leftover piece of scrap who’s so blind that he can’t even see something good when it’s in front of him.”

Shiro started towards the two once he heard the insults falling from the alien's mouth, while Lance took a step back, his body trembling a bit. “I-I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to-”

“Shut your worthless trap, a useless being like you doesn’t deserve to be alive!” he snarled louder.

Lance started to cry. Tears formed in his eyes, bubbling in the corners before running down his cheeks and reaching his jaw. He was shaking uncontrollably, reacting to the harsh words and taking them to heart. Shiro must have been seeing red as he immediately rushed forward with rage, clamping his hands around the shopkeeper's throat without thinking. Keith was right behind him, acting as backup for his leader, while Hunk went to the upset Lance, placing his hands on the boy's shoulders.

“Lance! Its fine, it’s all okay! Don’t listen to what that guy has to say!”

Meanwhile, Shiro had removed his hands from the neck as his initial reaction of anger fell and he became a tiny bit more reasonable, but he ended up settling for punching the alien in the face. The shopkeeper screeched in pain, falling to the floor as he tried to push himself away.

“Don’t you EVER speak to one of my family members like that and make them cry!” Shiro roared with a ferocity that seemed to hit everyone in the room, causing them to flinch. “In fact,” he growled as he leaned down into the alien's face, “if I ever catch you so much as whispering a word to any of them again, your neck will be snapped by my hands before you could even finish.”

The shopkeeper laid on the ground, trembling speechlessly, not wanting to anger the beast in front of him anymore.

A confused Pidge came running to the front, questioning gaze falling upon the scene before her. “What happened, Shiro?”

She saw Lance crying and Shiro who looked like he was restraining himself from committing murder, and she immediately knew what needed to happen. “Come on guys, let’s leave right now.”

She knew it was dangerous to give any sort of order that was directed at everyone, especially since Shiro was extremely serious about being the only leader, but she had decided any consequences she faced would be well worth it once she got them out of there. She helped usher Lance out of the shop with Hunk’s help, and Keith carefully grabbed the terrifyingly dangerous Shiro’s arm, tugging him along to follow the other three. 

They walked far away from the shop before stopping at an empty table that wasn’t surrounded by anyone. Pidge made Lance sit down, where the poor boy continued to sob. 

Shiro appeared in front of him as soon as he was sitting, the anger he had shown moments before disappearing as he prepared to comfort Lance. He put his arms around the boy, enveloping him in a soft hug, hushing his cries and patting his back. After a minute, he let go, leaning back but keeping his hands close to the boy.   
“Lance, look at me.” He gently commanded.

The Blue Paladin looked up with his watery eyes.

“Don’t ever believe someone who says things like that to you, okay? Anyone who tells you that you’re worthless or stupid, they’re lying.”

Lance sniffled and took a deep breath as he tried to calm himself down.

Pidge decided that adding something herself might help. “Lance, we all love and appreciate you, okay? I don’t know what I’d do if any of us Paladins weren’t here and that most certainly includes you.”

Hunk nodded in agreement. “You know that I’ve always cared about you too Lance, since the Garrison.”

Shiro looked up to Keith, who received the message that he should also say something.

He hesitated before speaking. “Yeah, even I value you, Lance. You know how hard that is for me to admit it.”

A small laugh came from Lance, although it sounded quiet and shaky.

“Thanks, guys, I’m sorry I’m so emotional. People can tear through me so easily…” Lance snuffled. 

Shiro smiled, placing a hand on his head and ruffling his hair a bit. “Hey, it’s fine. We just want to be able to protect you and make sure you’re happy. Now why don’t we all head back to the castle, I think we’ve spent enough time here.”

A grateful sigh could be heard from Keith as Shiro and Lance stood up. 

“Sorry you didn’t get the chance to buy what you needed, Pidge” Lance apologized.

“Ahh, don’t worry about it, I can always work on a different project instead,” she smiled, feeling unusually not irritated.   
“Oh, and Shiro? I’m sorry for earlier. I knew I overstepped my boundaries when I ordered everyone to leave.”

The leader glanced over at Lance, whose tear-stained face was red. Then he leaned close to pidge and spoke quietly, “Don’t let anyone else know this, but I’ll let it go this once.”

Pidge nodded appreciatively as the five Paladins made their way out of the space mall, stopping only once when Shiro stepped inside a store, coming back out with the orange-like food from before and handing it to Lance with a warm smile.


End file.
